S. 3211Senate118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 12:42 PM UTC

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act aims to boost the U.S. nursing and physician workforce by reclaiming unused employment‑based immigrant visas. It creates a pool of up to 40,000 visas—25,000 reserved for professional nurses and 15,000 for physicians—available to petitions filed within three years of the law’s enactment. The visas are exempt from per‑country limits and include provisions for family members, premium processing without fees, and a labor‑attestation safeguard.

Key Provisions

Increases the annual employment‑based visa ceiling by the number of visas unused from fiscal years 1992‑2021, up to a total of 40,000 visas.
Reserves 25,000 of those visas for professional nurses and 15,000 for physicians, with petitions required to be filed within three years of enactment.
Exempts these visas from per‑country caps and issues them based on the original priority date.
Allows accompanying family members to receive visas from the same recaptured pool without counting against the nurse or physician reservations.
Provides premium processing and expedited handling for these petitions, but USCIS may not charge a premium fee.
Requires employers to attest that hiring the foreign nurse or physician will not displace a U.S. worker.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

November 2, 2023

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

November 2, 2023

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

November 2, 2023

Floor Debate

4 members

What members said about S. 3211 on the floor

2 Republicans2 Democrats

Sen. John BarrassoR-WY · Nov 2, 2023

Madam President, today, I have joined Senators Manchin, Risch, Cardin, Boozman, and Hirono in introducing the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2023. In the House of Representatives,…

Madam President, today, I have joined Senators Manchin, Risch, Cardin, Boozman, and Hirono in introducing the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2023. In the House of Representatives, Congressmen Westerman, Grijalva, McCaul, and Meeks are introducing identical legislation.

This legislation renews the compact agreements between the United States and the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia, commonly referred to as the Freely Associated States.

This legislation will protect American interests in the Pacific and block

China's efforts to expand its influence. The Compacts of Free Association give the United States exclusive military authority over the Freely Associated States' lands and waters. This authority guarantees that our military can operate bases on the islands and deny access to any potential adversaries in the region. This is critical because Chinese aggression in the region is an ever-present danger.

China is expanding its power in the Indo-Pacific and is threatening the Freely Associated States. China is actively trying to upset the security and power dynamic in the region and threaten Taiwan. In March of this year, the outgoing President of the Federated States of Micronesia outlined Chinese attempts to undermine his country's ties to the United States through bribery and threatening public officials. China has also tried to use aggressive and coercive actions against the economies of the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands by threatening their tourism and fishing industries.

Today's introduction is a positive step. The House Natural Resources Committee intends to mark, up this legislation in order for it be included in the National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA. The Senate has already included language in the NDAA supporting renewal of the compacts. One important issue that is not addressed in this bill is how the legislation will be paid for. The question of a spending offset needs to be addressed as the bill makes its way through the legislative process.

Sen. Alex PadillaD-CA · Nov 2, 2023

Madam President, I rise to introduce the Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act to permanently increase the pay caps of some of the United States' most hard-working employees, who risk their lives to keep…

In every State, we rely on Federal firefighters who spend weeks to months away from their families in dangerous conditions. As fire season turns into a year-round issue, firefighters must be compensated for their overtime work that grows each year.

The Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act would increase the overtime pay caps Federal wildland firefighters and adjust for the new proposed pay scale.

This overtime pay cap increase boost the Federal Agencies' ability to recruit Federal wildland firefighters and avoid firefighters walking off the line midincident or leaving for other opportunities.

As it stands, current United States Code limits wildland firefighters' premium pay and hurts Federal Agencies' ability to recruit and retain firefighters.

Building off the bipartisan infrastructure law, a bipartisan group of Senators and the White House are working to ensure that our wildland firefighters are compensated appropriately for their intense line of work. The ``Wlldfand Firefighter Fair Pay Act'' complements these efforts by ensuring that any pay bump would not be limited by a pay cap.

I would like to thank Senators Steve Daines, Martin Heinrich, Ben Ray Lujan, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, and Jon Tester for joining me in introducing this bill, as well as Representative Zoe Lofgren for championing this bill in the House.

Lastly, we owe these efforts to California's Late Senator Dianne Feinstein, who had written the original bill. We must continue Senator Feinstein's legacy of supporting our firefighters and investing in wildfire mitigation efforts across the country by permanently increasing the premium pay cap.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this necessary legislation to improve pay for Federal firefighters.

Sen. John ThuneR-SD · Nov 2, 2023

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Sen. Richard J. DurbinD-IL · Nov 2, 2023

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Sen. Richard J. DurbinD-IL · Nov 2, 2023

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued November 2, 2023

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 3211

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 2, 2023

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Booker, Ms. Collins, Mr. Carper, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Coons, Mr. Rounds, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Thune, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Tillis, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To enhance our Nation’s nurse and physician workforce by recapturing unused immigrant visas.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act.

Recapturing unused immigrant visas for professional nurses and physicians

Section 106(d) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (title I of Public Law 106–313; 8 U.S.C. 1153 note) is amended to read as follows:

(d)

Recapture of unused employment-Based immigrant visas

(1)

In general

Subject to paragraph (2), and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the number of employment-based visas made available under section 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be increased by the number calculated in paragraph (3).

(2)

Limitations

(A)

In general

Visas may only be made available under this subsection for up to 40,000 employment-based immigrants (and their family members accompanying or following to join under section 203(d) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d))) whose immigrant worker petitions are filed not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act.

(B)

Reservations

Of the visas authorized under subparagraph (A)—

(i)

25,000 shall be reserved for professional nurses; and

(ii)

15,000 shall be reserved for physicians.

(C)

Exemption from country caps

Visas made available under this subsection—

(i)

shall not be subject to the per country numerical limitation set forth in section 202(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)); and

(ii)

shall be issued in order of the priority date assigned at the time the visa petition was filed.

(D)

Additional limitation

Visas may only be made available under this subsection to a beneficiary and such beneficiary's dependents if visas are not otherwise immediately available to such individuals pursuant to the worldwide and per country allocations set forth in sections 202(a)(2) and 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2) and 1153(b)).

(3)

Number available

(A)

Unused visas

Subject to subparagraph (B), the number calculated in this paragraph is the difference between—

(i)

the total number of employment-based visas that were made available in fiscal years 1992 through 2021; and

(ii)

the total number of such visas that were used in such fiscal years.

(B)

Reduction and limitation

The number described in subparagraph (A) shall be reduced, for each fiscal year following the fiscal year during which the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act is enacted, by the cumulative number of immigrant visas used pursuant to paragraph (1).

(C)

Family members

(i)

In general

Family members described in section 203(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d)) who are accompanying or following to join a principal beneficiary seeking admission under this subsection shall be entitled to an unreserved visa in the same status and in the same order of consideration as such principal beneficiary.

(ii)

Exempt from skill-based numerical limitation

Visas described in clause (i)—

(I)

shall be made available from the pool of recaptured unused immigrant visas calculated under subparagraph (A); and

(II)

shall not be counted against the total number of immigrant visas reserved for professional nurses and physicians under paragraph (2).

(D)

Rule of construction

Nothing in this paragraph may be construed as affecting the application of section 201(c)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(c)(3)(C)).

(4)

Premium processing; expedited processing

(A)

Premium processing

The Secretary of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Secretary of State, shall provide premium processing procedures, as provided for under section 286(u) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(u)), for reviewing and acting upon petitions and applications for immigrants described in paragraph (2). Notwithstanding such section, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may not charge a premium fee for such services.

(B)

Shipping petitions

The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall expedite the shipping of each petition described in subparagraph (A) requiring consular processing to the Department of State immediately after—

(i)

the completed petition has been resolved; and

(ii)

the petitioner has replied to any request from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for additional evidence.

(C)

Expedited processing

The Secretary of State shall expedite the processing of applications for immigrants described in paragraph (2) after receiving a petition on behalf of such immigrants from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

(5)

Labor attestation

Before an immigrant visa reserved under paragraph (2)(B)(i) is issued to an alien, the petitioner shall attest, in the job offer letter presented by the alien to a consular officer during the consular interview or to the Department of Homeland Security as an application for an adjustment of status, that the hiring of the alien has not displaced and will not displace a United States worker.